Windmill



(No Model.)

B. WORSLEY.

WINDMILL.

No. 408,946. Patented Aug. 13, 1889.

INVENTOR: M

ATTORNEYS.

lT/VESSES. 6%. M

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

ROLLIN VVORSLEY, OF NEIVARK, ILLINOIS.

WINDMILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,946, dated August 13, 1889.

Application filed November 12, 1888. Serial No. 290,549- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROLLIN WVORSLEY, of Newark, in the county of Kendall and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Windmill, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to an improvement in the means for supporting the jointed horizontal shaft which carries the wheel proper and transmits rotation to the vertical or tower shaft, from which the power is taken for any desired purpose.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improvement, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

In a windmill-frame as formerly constructed, with a solid frame and beveled gears to connect the horizontal and perpendicular shafting, it has been found that when a strain was applied to the driven shaft for the purpose of driving machines, or for work of any kind, the gear-wheel on the driving -shaft revolves around a pinion on the driven shaft and carries the wind-wheel frame with it, unless held to its place by some device which counteracts the revolving motion of the Wind-wheel frame. In some windmills rudders set at an angle have been used, or side or top vanes have been employed, or combinations of gears and worm-wheels have been utilized, to hold the frame in position with the wind-wheel squarely facing the wind. If the wind-wheel is al-. lowed to turn edgewise to the wind, it naturally loses a large part of its power for work.

In my invention, presently to bedescribed, the above-named serious defect is entirely avoided.

In the tower A, of any approved construction, is mounted to turn in suitable bearings the vertical shaft B, carrying 011 its upper end a bevel-pinion O, meshing into a bevel gearwheel D, secured on the shaft E, connected by a universal joint F with the wind-wheel shaft Gr, carrying on its outer end the wind-wheel H. The shafts E and G are mounted to turn in the wind-wheel frame I, made in two parts J and K, hinged together at L L, located in line with the center of the universal joint F. The frame part J is mounted to turn loosely in bearings in the top of the tower, as is plainly illustrated in Fig. 2.

The operation is as follows: The wind, acting 011 the face of the wind-wheel H, rotates the latter, so that the shaft G is turned, and turns, by the universal joint F, the shaft E, which, by the gear-wheelsD and G, transmits the rotary motion of the wheel to the shaft B, connected in the usual manner with the machinery to be driven. Now, the purpose of having the wheel-frame I and the wind-wheel shaft made flexible at the point between the tower-pivot and the wind-wheel is to prevent the wind-wheel from being drawn partly out of the direct line of the wind by the bevelgears D and C pulling the wind-wheel I'I around the pivot on the shaft B.

It is understood that the tendency of the wind-wheel H to pull out of' the wind by the resistance of work applied to driven shaft B is overcome by allowing the frame part J to swing on its tower-pivot, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, while the other frame-section K moves parallel with its former position, thus keeping the win d-wheel H directly in the face of the wind. It is understood that the universal joint F and the pivots L permit such a movement. The frame part J acts as a lever to draw the gear-wheelsD and Cback to their place, and whenever the strain on the gear and frame is equal to the pressure of the wind against the wind-wheel then the frame will remain stationary and the wheel will revolve with its face squarely to the wind, thereby exerting its greatest power.

The invention applies more particularly to the style of windmills called van eless that is, it runs back of the tower or pivot and requires no vane or rudder to hold its face to the wind. The distance that the main frame part J moves out of the line depends on the distance from the tower pivotshaft B to the hinge L, and also the proportionate sizes of the wheels D and 0 used and the power of the wind-wheel H.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentto ether, a wind-wheel frame mounted to swing and made in two parts hinged together in line with the universal joint, and means, substantially as described, for transmitting I 5 the rotary motion of the wind-wheel shaft to the power-shaft, as set forth.

ROLLIN \VORSLEY.

\Vitnesse.

O. F. THUNEMANN, II. K. THUNEMANN. 

